Connecting means for conveyer troughs



lulLlwlwmmmmmlp llllllulY/QV E. R. BERGMANN' CONNEGTING MEANS FOR CONVEYER TROUGHS original Filed uarchzzz, 1944 to connect the troughstogether.

' Patented Aug. v7A, 1945 UNITED STATES 'PATENT'CFFICE f CONNECTINGMEANS Fon coNvEYER Y 'rRoUGHs l ann, Chicago, Ill., assignr tonufacturing Company, Chicago, lll., a corporation of Illinois Originalapplication March 24, 1944, Serial No. 527,924. Divided and thisappiicationApx-il 5,

i 1944,seria1No.529,691

' r'claims. (ci. 19a- 220) AThis invention relatesto improvements in`connesting means for conveyer troughs, and more particularly relates toa new and improved con- In carrying out my invention I provide aconnecting'means for connecting the troughs of a .shaker conveyertogether, which includes means for vconnecting the troughs together atone side of the trough line and a clamping member operable from aposition adjacent said connecting means and having spaced engaging facesadjacent the opposite side'of thetrough line, which are adapted toengage corresponding engaging faces on adjacent ends of theconveyertroughs, to

draw and hold said ends ofsaid troughs together. l

Other objects of my invention will appear from timeto time as thefollowing yspecification proceeds and vwith Vreference totheaccompanying drawing wherein:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary top plan view of adjacent endswof two shakerconveyor face loading p ansheld vin connected relation with respect to\each other by a connecting means constructed in accordance with myinvention, withparts of the .pans broken away and parts of the'connecting` means shown in section;

,Figure 2 is a transverse 'sectional view-taken substantially alongline2-2 of Figure 1;

loading pan at .an angle with respect to the ground asin my parentapplication Serial lNo. 527,924, and may be of a type similar to-thatshown in my parent application, so`will not herein be shown ordescribedin detail. Y

The connecting means- H, for connecting adjacent ends of the pans Ill,.Il! together, includes a pair of abutting plates I4 and I5 secured tothe l bottoms of adjacent ends of'said loading pans and extendingtransversely -thereacrossfto form .a

flat abutting surface between said loading pans.

Said loading pans are herein shown as being con'- nected together inoverlapping relation with respect to each other, -so' the abutting plateI4 is spaced from the end of its loading pan and the rabutting plate I5extends across the end of its loading pan. Said abutting plates I4 andI5 have inclined wedge-shaped surfaces I1 and I8, re-

spectively, disposed adjacent one end of the pans and inclined outwardlyfrom the joint between the pans, and .diverging 4from the longitudinalcenter of the pans towards the outer side thereof. (Said abuttingsurfaces, as herein shown, extendy substantially perpendicular to thebottomof the pan and are spaced downwardly therefrom.

A clamping member I9 having oppositely in'- clined engaging surfaces 20,20 adapted to slidably engage ythe engaging surfaces I1 and I8, is'provided to'draw the abutting plates I4 and I5 together by movementalong said engaging surfaces, and to clamp said loading pans togetherwhen held stationary. Tongues 2|, 2l vproject inwardly from saidinclined surfaces of said clamping member-and are. adapted toextendwithin the grooves formed between the bottom of the loading'panand the'en'gaging surfaces I1 and I8, toy

yretain said clamping member thereon.

'I'he clamping member I9 is provided with a V* pair of spaced engagingends 22, 22 extending -Figure 3 is a `sectional view taken substantiallyv Y along line 3`3 of Figure 1 d Eigure- `4 is a fragmentary'plan-viewdrawn to a smaller scale than Figurev 1 and showing a connecting meansYconstructed in accordance with my invention applied toa conventionalform of conveyertrough; and y l d f Figure 5 is a transverse sectionalview taken substantially along line .5-5 of Figure 4. Y

In Figure 1 of the drawing, adjacent ends of two face loading pans II),III, connected together by a connecting means II, are shown asbeingmounted on a 'ball frame I 2, for reciprocable movement along theground. Said ball iframe, as herein shown, is arranged to support saidfacelongitudinally of` the loadingpans, in opposite directions from thecenter thereof. Said ends are adapted t0 engage the bottoms of adjacent'loading pans, to stabilize said' clamping member and to 'limit thetendency for said loading pans to move with respect to eacl` otherlabout their` point, vof connection together. Thel clamping memberoutwardlybeyond the retaining edge of the load- I9 has. an outer portion23 extending f necting lugs 21, 21, which are secured to the rear orouter sides of retaining walls 28, 28 of adjacent ends of said loadingpans, and which khave flat inner abutting surfaces in alignment with theabutting surfaces of the abutting plates I4 and I5. Lock nuts 29, 29 onsaid bolt 2li serve to hold one side of said loading pans together.v Anut 30, threaded on the end of said eyebolt, abuts the outer side ofsaid upright apertured portion 24, and serves towmove said clampingmember towards the side of the pan opposite from said connecting bolt,to wedge the troughs together as said nut is moved along said eyebolt,towards the loading pans I0, I0, and also to'hold said clamping memberin a fixed position, to hold said loading .pans in connected relationwith respect to each other.

The connecting means shown in Figures 4 and y 5 is substantially thesame as that shown in Figures l, 2 and 3, so the same part numbers willbe applied thereto that were applied to the connect-l ing means shown inFigures 1, 2 and 3. In Figures 4 and 5, the connecting means II is shownas beingf applied to connect adjacent ends of a pair of shaker conveyertroughs 3I, 3| together. Said troughs are of a conventionalconstruction,

4 -mounted on lball frames 33, 33, and are herein shown as beingdisposed adjacent a coal face 32. In order to increase the length of theabutting 'surfaces of the plates I4 and I5 and to form a greater bearingarea at the joint between said troughs, and in order to reinforce thesides of said troughs at the joint where said troughs are connectedtogether, members 34, 34 are herein shown as forming a continuation ofthe plates I4 and I5. Said members extend laterally beyond the ends ofsaid plates and upwardly along the side of said trough opposite from theeyebolt 25.

It may be seen from the foregoing that' a novel form o f connectingmeans has been provided for positively connecting adjacent ends ofthetrough sections of a shaker conveyer -trough or pan line together fromone side of the pan line, which is particularly advantageous for usewhere the pan line extends close to a mine face, and which is of asimple construction permitting the pan sections to be readily connectedor disconnected with a minimum amount of manual eilort.

While I have herein shown and described one form in which my inventionmay be embodied, it

will be understood that the construction thereof and the arrangement ofthe various parts may be altered Without departing from the spirit andlscope thereof. FurthermoreJdo not wish to be construed as .limiting mylinvention to the specie embodiment illustrated, excepting as it maybenmiteain the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A connecting means, .for connecting adjacent ends of a pair of shakerconveyer troughs together including a` pair of'plate members extendingacross lthe bottoms of adjacent ends of said troughs, each of said platemembers having an inner 'abutting facevand -an outer inclined engagingface, said outer faces being of a wedgeshaped'v formation when saidinner faces are in engagement with each other, and means operable fromone side of said troughs only an'dfextending' being so arranged -thatwhen said abutting faces abut each other, said outer' faces will form ineffect a wedge, a clamping member having a pair --of facing innerinclined engaging faces adapted to have slidable engagement with saidengaging faces on said plate members, and means operable from one sideof said troughs only for moving said clamping member along said inclinedengaging faces, to draw said troughs together and for holding saidclamping member in position to hold said troughs in fixed relation withrespect to each other.

3. A connecting means for a pair of conveyer troughs including a pair ofplate members extending across the bottoms of adjacent ends of `saidtroughs, each of said plate members having an inner abutting face and anouter inclined engaging face, said outer inclined engaging faces beingdisposed adjacent one side of said troughs and being so arranged thatwhen saidabutting faces are in engagement with each other, said outerfaces will together be of a wedge-shaped formation, a clamping memberhaving a pair of facing inner inclined engaging faces adapted to haveslidable engagement with said engaging faces on said plate members, andmeans operable from the side of said troughs opposite from said inclinedengaging faces of said plate members, to draw saidtroughs together andto hold said clamping member in position to hold said troughs in fixedrelation with respect to each other.

4. A connecting means for a pair of conveyer troughs including a pair ofplate members extending 'across the bottoms of adjacent ends of saidtroughs, each of said plate members having an inner abutting face and anouter inclined engaging face, said outer inclined engaging faces beingdisposed adjacent one side of said troughs and being so arranged thatwhen said abutting faces are in engagement with each other, said outerfaces will .together be of a, wedge-shaped formation, a clamping memberhaving a pair of facing inner inclined engaging faces adapted to haveslidable engagement with Asaid engaging faces on said plate members,means at the side of said troughs, opposite from said inclined engagingfaces of said plate lmembers, for holding said 1 sides of said troughstogether, and other means adjacent said last mentioned holding means forymoving said clamping member in a direction lto said troughs. each ofsaid plate members having across the bottom of said troughs and havingengagement with said Wedge-shaped outer faces, for drawing said troughstogetherand for holding them in connected relation with respect to eachother. p. l 2. A lconnecting means for a pair of conveyerv troughs'including a pair 4of plate members exngaging face, said iouter facesbeing of a wedgeshaped formation-when said inner. faces are inengagement witheachother, and means operable from one side of saidtroughs and having engagement with said wedge-shaped outer faces, fordrawing said trough sections together and for holding them inconnectedrelation with respect to eachother, including a-clamping vmemberextending beneath said trough's and having inclined engaging faceshaving en'gagel'ne'nty with said.

outer faces of said plate-members, and having n inner abutting fafceandtan outer inclined another portion extending beyond the side ofsaidtroughs opposite from said engaging faces`and means engageable with saidouter portion of said clamping member, for moving said clamping memberin a direction to drawsaidtroughs to-Y gether. y

6, A` connecting means for connecting adja' cent ends of a pair ofshaker conveyer troughs together including a pair of plate membersextending across th'e bottoms of adjacent ends of said troughs, each ofsaid plate membershaving an inner abutting face and an outer inclined yengaging face, said outer faces being .of a Wedgeshaped formation whensaid inner faces are in env gagement With each other, 'and meansoperable from one side of said troughs and having, engagement with .saidWedgefshaped outer faces, for drawing said trough sections togeth'erandv for holding them in connected relationwith respect to reach other,including a clamping member eX- tending beneath saidy troughs and havinginclined engaging faces having engagement with said outer faces of saidplate members, and having another portion extending beyond th'e side ofsaid troughs opposite from said engaging faces, and means engageablewith Vsaid outer portion of said clamping member, for moving saidclamping member in a Vdirection to drawsaid troughs Ito-l versely 'ofsaid troughs, and a nui-l on said eyebolt having engagement with saidouter portion of said clamping member.

'7. A connecting means for a pair of conveyer troughs including a pairof plalte members extending across the bottoms of adjacent ends of saidtroughs, each of said plate members having an inner abutting face and anouter inclined engaging face, said outer inclined' engaging faces beingdisposed adjacent one lateral side of said ytroughs and being soarranged that When said abutting faces are inengagement With each other,said outer faces will together be of a Wedgeshaped formation, a clampingmember having a pair of facing inner inclined engaging faces adapted tohave slidable engagement with' said engaging faces on said abuttingmembers, a connesting bolt'at the side of said troughs oppositetogether, an eyebolt pivotally mounted on said gether, including aneyebolt extending trans-f.

from said inclined engaging faces of said plate members, for holdingsaid side of said -troughs connecting bolt, and a nut on said eyeboltvhaving engagement with said clamping' member for moving said clampingmember in a direction to y draw said troughs together and for holding4said clamping member in position to hold said troughs in fixed relationwith respect to each other,

ERNST R. BERGMANN.

